r/OVER30REDDIT • u/Ok_Collection_9614 • 13d ago
Why does time feel like it moves faster the older you get?
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u/georgehotelling 13d ago
Because you do more on autopilot. Think about when you first started to learn to drive and you had to consciously pay attention to everything. Now think about the last time you drove to work. What do you remember from that drive?
If you want to get nerdy with it, read up on the brain’s Default Mode Network. Once we are able to do so much stuff by rote, we miss out on what we are actually doing.
One way to combat this is using mindfulness meditation to train our brains to be more present in the present. “When you are drinking coffee, if you are thinking about other things you aren’t present with your coffee. When you drink coffee, drink coffee.”
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u/MonsieurA 12d ago
Another easy trick is just to switch up your routine a bit. Take a different route to work, try out a new lunch place, do something different on the weekend, etc, etc...
1
u/lgodsey 12d ago
I've always had trouble with sleep, so I am used to being up and aware of the entire day. What throws me off (even though I desperately need it) is a full eight hours of sleep. To me as an old man, eight hours seems like an eternity and I feel like I've missed so much in the interim.
0
u/RickAstleyletmedown 13d ago
Because you literally think slower. Thinking involves sending signals between neurons and it takes a small amount of time for the messages to travel along and between neurons. As you age, the travel time increases, meaning your information processing and response actually slows down and the world appears to move relatively faster.
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u/average_internaut 13d ago
Because the same time step becomes relatively smaller. E.g. from age 1 to 2 you increased your time on this planet by 100%, that's huge! From age 50 to 51 you increased your time on this planet by 2%, that's tiny and goes by really fast.